Page 57 of His to Worship

The words are a declaration, but they are tinged with a mocking and I see the moment Junq realizes that. It’s the same moment a calm falls over his face.

“You fought dishonorably, clansman,” Junq announces, rising slowly from his seat. “The rules were—”

“The rules were every male fights at the same time, knees to the ground eliminate you, and the last man standing wins,” Kuvier retorts, his voice harsh and deadly. “I have broken no rule and I will not have you spit in the face of what the Great Mother has bestowed upon me. Hear this, all of you,” he turns in a circle, me in his arms, “this female belongs to me and none other shall have her unless they wish to challenge me to the death.”

You could hear a pin drop in the full crowd that was so rowdy moments ago. Kuvier’s vow hangs in the air. It’s not Junq that cuts the silence, but a male that steps forward from the crowd. It’s a shock to my system when I take him in. He looks so much like my Kuvier that it’s astounding. They have the same chiseled features, deep eyes and strong build. The only difference being that where Kuvier is brown and white in coloring, this one is almost platinum blonde with spatterings of red.

“Atan, Kuvier has fought with integrity,” the male says, his voice a low timber, “let us end this with integrity.”

Junq looks at this man with a face of betrayal for a long, weighty moment, but he turns back to Kuvier.

“Take your mate, Kuvier,” he says, before he grins cruelly at Enikk and addresses the whole clan. “Today’s Rite is over, clansmen, return to your huts and rest. Tomorrow, it shall be the smallest human’s Rite of Challenge. We shall see which worthy male is left standing then.”

Enikk’s face storms over and I feel the hatred in my heart seethe. I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to figure out a way to knock that man off his throne if it’s the last thing I do.

The clan slowly begins to disperse and I put my attention back on Kuvier. He’s covered in blood, and now that the challenge is over, I can see the exhaustion filling his eyes. My arms rest on his chest and I take note of the scratches I can see. Thankfully, Jepiil missed any major arteries, but my heart still aches for him. And who even knows what his back looks like after that?

“I need to tell the girls we won, but we can be together tonight, right?”

“Of course, we will never be apart again, ti khesi, this I promise you.” He leans forward and captures my mouth in a hungry kiss. When we pull away, I feel several eyes on us, but I pay them no mind.

“Let’s go.” I don’t bother asking him to put me down. With what he’s been through, and how much I’ve missed him, he can carry me wherever he likes.

We begin walking towards Tiqii’s hut, and when I look over Kuvier’s shoulder, I see the eyes that are on us. Several other men, not challengers, stare at us as we walk away. What’s in their stares is what pulls me up short. There is no hatred, no disgust, instead, there’s just longing as they witness our happiness. And in that moment, I realize what I have over Junq. I realize that this man was playing checkers, but I’m about to up the ante.

Because I’ve got a checkmate, bitch.

THIRTY-FOUR

- sedona -

That night, I sit naked criss-cross in Kuvier’s hut using my hands to gently stream water over the wounds on his body. After the chaos of the last twenty-four hours, the quiet and stillness of the dimly lit hut are very welcomed.

I put the water pouch back over the fire and pick up a small skull full of a foul-smelling paste Kuvier’s mother had given me. She’d stopped us as we left Tiqii’s hut and pressed it into my hand with a watery smile before walking away. Kuvier promised that we would take time for a proper introduction. Carefully, I spread a thin layer over the cuts and scratches on his back and shoulder.

“How do you feel?” I ask him when I’m done. I crawl around him and the moment I am in front of him, he pulls me towards him. Straddling his legs, I sit on his lap, carefully resting my hands on an uninjured spot on his chest.

“Better, the tiva paste is already soothing the pain.” He nuzzles his nose into the crook of my neck and inhales deeply. “Having you back in my arms soothes everything else.”

“I missed you,” I say, leaning into his gentle nosing.

“I was half a male without you,” he states, honesty clear in the timber of his voice.

“Kuvier,” I begin hesitantly, “what do you think will happen now?”

He pulls away and considers me for a moment. “My mother told me to take you and leave. She thinks that Junq will never give up and that his ire will transfer to you and then our kits.”

I try not to focus on the flutter in my stomach when he mentions us having kits.

“We can’t leave without the others.” I frown deeply. “I want to leave, but they won’t be safe here. Not with the way some of some of these men see us as objects.”

“I know this,” he responds with a sigh. “This is why I do not have a true answer for you. I do not know what we should do next. Tomorrow, Enikk will fight, and I will fight with him again. But after that, I do not know. We cannot fight for the other females, as they have no one else to claim them at the end.”

This circles my brain back to the idea that’s formulating in my head.

“How did you know I was your mate?” I’ve guessed the answer already, but I want to know for sure.

“By your smell,” he divulges. “Lieq are scent driven, and when I smelled you, I knew that you were mine as surely as I knew that there are three eyes in the sky.”

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